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Besides, the clock on the wall said I’d already slept in. In the daylight, the room matched the feeling I’d gotten from the downstairs on our stumble through in the dark. Big and airy. Light wood furniture paired with a soft blue and gray color scheme.
I peeked out the window and caught my breath. Snow sparkled on dark green pines under a bright blue sky. I was right when I’d called it picturesque. Behind me, Parker rolled over, then settled with the blankets over his head.
God, he was cute. The temptation to climb back into bed and wake him up was almost stronger than the urge to shower after sleeping most of the night in the car. Almost.
I grabbed my shoes and decided to take advantage of my non-showered state to check out the weight set-up he’d promised me in the basement. Best case scenario, I got my work-out and shower in before anyone spotted me.
In my socks, I tiptoed down the stairs, but my luck ended when I passed the kitchen. A black, brown, and red speckled cat raced past me with something long and fuzzy in its mouth. I had to stop suddenly so as not to step on it, and a frustrated grunt came from the kitchen.
I leaned forward to peer around the corner, and Parker’s mom caught sight of me as she wiped up spilled coffee on the counter. She blew her hair away from her face and offered me a warm smile.
“Good morning, Riley.”
As much as I wanted to slink away, my midwestern upbringing wouldn’t allow that kind of rudeness. “Good morning, Mrs. Shaw.”
She waved a hand at me. “Call me Gina. I wasn’t expecting you guys up for another couple of hours.”
I pulled at the hem of the cropped tank I’d worn in the car, wishing I’d put on something more appropriate for spending the morning with my boyfriend’s mom in her kitchen. While I fidgeted, the cat darted back into the kitchen and leapt onto the counter, sliding to a stop next to the spill.
Gina propped her hands on her hips. “Dammit, Fiona. This ismycoffee. You’re a cat. You don’t drink coffee.”
The cat sniffed at the liquid, then meowed at Gina, clearly demanding something. She shooed the sleek little animal off the counter and finished cleaning the mess. “I swear that cat is part demon. Coffee?”
“No, thanks. I don’t drink coffee either, but I’d love a glass of water. I was hoping to check out the basement and maybe get a workout in before Parker wakes up.”
Her blue eyes, a softer version of Parker’s, lit up. “I’ll show you. It’s a full gym with a walkout and a hot tub on the patio. Parker taught me how to use the equipment, but I have to say we get a lot more use out of the hot tub than the weights.”
Gina grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and led me past the entry to another door on the opposite side of the stairs. Despite her description, I expected a small, cramped space with low ceilings and a couple sets of weights.
I was so wrong.
The stairs led down into a bright, open space with an entire wall of windows on one side. Through the glass, I spotted the hot tub she’d mentioned. A full rack took up one corner along with yoga mats, balls, hand weights—anything I would need for a home workout—and the wall opposite the windows was all mirror.
I could live here. Seriously, the setup rivaled the home gym my dad put in at our house in Wisconsin. I circled the room, touching the metal, letting the memories wash over me.
Gina showed the same capacity to read people as her son. She leaned against the wall at the bottom of the stairs and gave me a minute. When I frowned at a small bookshelf tucked beside the bathroom door, she laughed.
“Jaina likes to use the space to read when Parker’s not here.” She pointed at the expanse of glass. “Those are accordion doors. They fold all the way back so we can enjoy the outside during good weather.”
I glanced at the small piles of snow under the trees. “What’s considered good weather?”
“Anything above forty-five degrees basically. The patio is east-facing, so the room gets plenty of sun. There are more waters in the mini fridge down here.”
Gina handed me the bottle she’d carried down, and I opened it to take a swig. I hadn’t expected to conversate before brushing my teeth. My breath couldn’t be all that great after the amount of sour cream and onion chips I’d eaten on the way here.
Gina climbed the first step to go back upstairs, then hesitated and faced me again. “I think I understand why Parker wants to keep your relationship a secret, but why do you?”
My brows shot up, and I choked on my water. She waited with a serene expression on her face until I stopped coughing.
I chanced a tiny sip to clear my throat, extremely curious about what she thought Parker’s reasons were. “If it got out that I was dating one of my teammates, people wouldn’t see a football player, they’d see a slut. My vagina would become the most important part of my body while the whole world speculated on who else I’d slept with to get to where I am.”
She frowned. “I can see why you’d be worried about that, but surely the coaching staff and administration would support you.”
A laugh caught in my throat. “Coach would, but the administration wouldn’t. They made a new rule this year against team fraternization. I’m pretty sure the rule was because of me, and I doubt they’d appreciate me actively disobeying it.”
Gina tapped her chin with a finger, and I could see the wheels turning in her head. “Historically speaking, fraternization prohibitions in large organizations are never enforceable. There are too many variables to control.”
“With all due respect, they have the power. If they want to enforce it, I can’t fight them. Honestly, I just want to play for as long as I can.” And I wanted to be with Parker for as long as we could make it work, but I didn’t tell her that part.
